Happy Wednesday! I'm back, at least for today. This month has been pretty draining. I am working towards finishing up some deadlines, doing regular work, trying to keep the apartment in order, and planning our wedding from afar. Plus, it was Michael's birthday and our anniversary this month.

I haven't had much to talk about or show in this space, and honestly I think I needed a little break. I've been pretty quiet on Instagram too, I guess I've pulled back from most social media this month, and it's been good. I can't do everything, so something has to give. Hopefully next month things can get back to normal.

I did find time recently to refresh the quilt ladder. I love having quilts on display! It was made using this tutorial.


I've joined a quilt bee for the first time in years and I'm pretty excited about it. It's a traveling bee, so we had to send out our quilt "start" last month. I choose some orphaned blocks that all happened to coordinate in color. I can't wait to find time to work on this project.


I started my first knitting project of 2015, a Schwimmen hat (pattern by Shannon Cook). It's another gray hat, because I love gray hats. This is the fourth gray hat I have made, whoops! Oh well, I know what I like! More on my Ravelry.


We are finally to the point where we are simply running out of space in our apartment. Since we aren't planning on moving until we leave Madison, this means some purging is necessary. Thankfully, I love ridding through things, so it's not all bad. This past weekend I tackled my sewing room. I took almost everything out of the wall of closets, and got rid of a decent amount of stuff. Not enough, but there is nothing being stored on the floor anymore, so definitely an improvement! I also ordered this FJÄLKINGE shelving unit from Ikea to take better advantage of the space between my sewing table and the window. It's definitely one of the better quality pieces I've seen from there, and it fits perfectly.


Last month when it wasn't quite so cold (it's 2 degrees right now), we got brave and went out onto Lake Mendota for some photos of the ice. It was really cool. Don't worry, this is as far as we got from the shore.


George bunny has been good. He is so sweet, I like to pick him up for a squeeze everyday. He has been waking us up every morning at about 6:30am to go out in his play area. Stinker!


One more George photo just for good measure, cause he is so cute!

Have a great day!

New Projects and Gifts from Friends

Color Me Squared Pillow Sneak Peek, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

Happy Tuesday!  I meant to squeeze a post in yesterday, but didn't end up having enough time! I'm up in Minnesota this week visiting Megan!  Excited to stitch, chat, shop, and dye fabric!

Regardless, I'm hoping to get a quick tutorial up for the pillow above this week!

Color Me Retro Drawstring Bag, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I sewed up another lined drawstring bag (tutorial + pattern) this weekend, this time in reds from Color Me Retro!  It needed to be done!  Also, I need to order more twill tape, I'm all out of white!

Color Me Retro Vintage Nine-Patch Table Runner, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

I realized I hadn't shared this table runner that I made for the Color Me Retro video last month! I used blocks from my Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt Pattern and made a simple runner.  The background is Fresh Water Pure Element.

Mischief Managed Pillow by Amanda, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

So, I happen to have some amazing friends.  Amazing, talented friends who make beautiful things! Two really sweet gifts arrived this month that really put giant smiles on my face.  This awesome Harry Potter pillow from Amanda is one of those things! We both have a certain fondness for the 3rd book in particular, and I just love this screenprint that she made.  It's so crazy professional looking! And how perfect is the patchwork and pom-pom trim to finish this pillow off?  It's so me!

Mischief Managed Pillow by Amanda, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

If that weren't enough, look at the back.  This bit of embroidery is my favorite part! Thank you Amanda, I love it so much! We HAVE to do another Harry Potter swap this summer! :)

Bunny in a Bowl Mini Quilt by Jacey, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

The other crazy wonderful awesome sweet thing that arrived this month was this bunny mini quilt from Jacey! Seriously, I totally cried when I opened it! It's George, on a quilt!! I love it so! It will have a place of honor on the bunny wall!  I think Jacey and Amanda conspired, these projects match each other in color!  Well, the probably just both know me too well, they are my favorite colors! Thank you Jacey, this mini blows my mind, I love it so much!  The paper-pieced bunny is from Ayumi's pattern, found here!

Bunny in a Bowl Mini Quilt by Jacey, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.

You know I had to do it.  George in a bowl on top of a quilt of George in a bowl.  You're welcome! ;)

Seriously though, how lucky am I?  I love having handmade things in our apartment to remind me of my caring and talented friends.  I will enjoy these things for a long time!

Today I love the..
Smell of: Cinnamon rolls
Sound of: Spongebob
Taste of: Diet coke
Sight of: Sunshine
Feel of: Warm quilt

Good Things about Today:
- Lots of sewing ahead!
- Cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
- Slept well!
- Feeling relaxed!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt Pattern

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I am SO excited to finally share the Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt with you all! This quilt has been on my mind for a long time.  Back in 2010, we pulled some vintage quilts out to take some photographs and one of them was this blue nine-patch quilt. We know someone in our family made it, and are pretty sure that it was my Great-Great-Grandmother on my Mom's side.  I don't know if it's the scale of the pattern, or the fabrics, or simply that it's vintage, and someone in my family made this quilt, but I love it.

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Unfortunately the original is in pretty poor condition.  There are oil stains, rips, places where the binding is gone, and gray paint on it.  It's very fragile and not exactly in useable condition.  I decided the best way to preserve it was the remake it, so the Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt was born!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

For a quilt this special, I knew I needed to use special fabrics. I've been saving a fat quarter bundle of It's a Hoot by Momo for a while, and it felt like the perfect fit for this project. I sashed the blocks in Kona Aqua, to keep the look of the overall quilt true to the original.  It's a healthy throw size at 61.5"x76.5".


I decided to create a pattern to go along with this quilt, so you can make one too if you'd like! It's a 5-page PDF pattern with instructions for making the quilt with 20 or 40 fat quarters, and from scraps! Also includes license to sell quilts made from the pattern on a small-scale basis!

You can find it here! Thanks for your support!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I love the way these sister quilts look together! The original is safely tucked away most of the time, so it was fun to pull it out for some photos!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I backed mine in a vintage sheet I'd been saving. The bright colors and fun plaid pattern were a great match for It's a Hoot!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I quilted it with simple diagonal lines across each block, quick and easy! It's bound up in scraps!

Vintage Nine-Patch Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

It's been hard keeping this quilt under wraps while I was working on the pattern! It was a really special project for me, and I look forward to making more quilts with this pattern. My scrap bin could definitely use a project (or two!) like this!

Happy Quilting!